The Other Life (20 page)

Her toes dug into the fine white sand. Under different circumstances, she could be quite taken by the beauty of this place. The water was a clearer blue than anything she had ever seen.

“Isn’t this great?” Eugene said.

“Great,” Quinn echoed. She needed to fight the impulse to enjoy anything about this. As soon as possible, she would need to ditch Eugene so that she could get back into the water and try to find the portal.

“You were right,” he said. “This is just what I needed—a romantic getaway.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Are you having fun?”

“Sure.”

“You want to go for a cold drink?”

“Why don’t you go and I’ll catch up with you?” she said. “I’d like to take a swim.”

“A swim? Don’t be ridiculous. You were just in the water for almost two hours.”

“Still—”

“C’mon, Quinn. Indulge me. I want to sit and enjoy your company for a while.”

Eugene wore khaki swim trunks and she watched as he led her to a bamboo deck overlooking the ocean. All those hours at the gym had transformed him. His slender body was now ropey with defined muscles, and he had actually added bulk to his pecs and arms.

“Here,” he said as they reached two empty lounge chairs with an open view of the water. His eyes looked so clear and relaxed that Quinn felt a stirring she did not want to admit.
Don’t,
she warned herself.
Don’t even think about it
.

As she lowered herself into the lounge, Quinn felt a lovely breeze off the ocean. It was as if everything about this environment was conspiring to seduce her. But she was determined to be strong.

When a lovely young woman with a broad smile asked if they wanted drinks, Quinn ordered an iced coffee. It was, after all, morning in the South Pacific, and she saw no reason to add alcohol to the forces she might need to battle.

“C’mon,” Eugene said, “you only live once.” Then he turned to the waitress and ordered them two mimosas.

The view was spectacular—exactly the kind of thing photographers tried to capture on postcards but never could, because it was the scope and the grandeur of the beauty that made one’s heart open wide. Quinn wiggled her toes against the warm breeze. She took a deep breath and decided it wouldn’t be so bad to spend just a few minutes enjoying this paradise.

“It’s so beautiful here,” she said.

Eugene looked her up and down. “It sure is,” he said.

Quinn glanced down at her own body. She was wearing a print twopiece bathing suit, and her belly was tan, flat, and toned. Not the tummy of a woman with a child, let alone a woman pregnant with her second baby. She put her hand on her abdomen.

She sipped her mimosa, thinking she should make some excuse to Eugene—like saying she had to go to the bathroom—and find her way back to the spot she had come from. But the idea of lingering awhile was so appealing she couldn’t quite find the words. She decided she would finish her drink and then figure out a plan.

“I love you,” Eugene said.

Quinn glanced over at him. It wasn’t like Eugene to be demonstrative. Clearly, this romantic vacation was having an effect on him.

She swallowed. “Love you, too.”

From where they sat, Quinn could see the boat they had been on. She redrew the mental line she had made earlier from the tall palm tree to the island on the horizon. Would it help? Would she really be able to sense where the portal was? What if she couldn’t? What if it was impossible to find a way back?

Oddly, the thought spun only the thinnest thread of panic, buffered by a plush layer of tranquillity. This island was having a hypnotic effect on her, aided and abetted by the champagne in her drink.

She sucked the last of her mimosa through her straw and put down the glass.

“Let’s go to our room,” Eugene said, reaching for her hand.

“In a bit,” she said, stalling.

He sat up in his lounge chair and swung his feet to the ground. “You know, I’m not feeling so great.”

“What’s the matter?”

“I think I’m seasick from that boat ride.”

“And you’re just noticing it now?”

“Maybe it was the drink. I think I need to lie down in the room.”

“That’s a good idea,” she said.

He rose and looked down at her. “Aren’t you coming with me?”

“I thought you would want some peace and quiet.”

“I need you.”

Of course you do, she thought, standing. Just as well, anyway. If she could get him to lie down and take a nap, it would be a perfect opportunity to sneak away.

Once they were in the room, however, it was clear Eugene had other plans. As soon as the door was shut, he grabbed Quinn and kissed her hard on the mouth. At this point, she couldn’t very well push him away. He pressed his body into hers, and she felt more heat than she wanted to admit.

“I thought you didn’t feel well,” she said, when they came up for air.

“It was a ruse to get you alone.”

Oh no, she thought. I can’t. No matter what, I can’t get into bed with him. She moved back a step. “I’m not sure I’m in the—”

“Please,” he interrupted. “Don’t say anything. Just close your eyes for a minute.”

This could be trouble, Quinn thought. But she did as he said, and heard him open a drawer and close it. Then he took her hand.

“Open your eyes,” he said.

She did, and he was in front of her on one knee. Beyond him was a large window with a view of the Pacific. A dark blue velvet jewelry box rested on his palm in front of her, opened to the most spectacular diamond ring she had ever seen outside of a glass case.

Eugene spoke. “Quinn Gilbert, will you marry me?”

No, she thought. God, no. She looked at his face. He seemed so smitten, so completely in love, it occurred to her that this was what she had sensed on the other side. It wasn’t Hayden and Cordell whose love life was a massive train wreck. It was hers and Eugene’s.

But why? Why was the Quinn in this life so conflicted about marrying Eugene? Hadn’t she been waiting for this moment? Wasn’t she still comforted by his adoration?

Maybe not. Maybe his neediness was at last wearing thin. That, she concluded, was why he was finally popping the question. He must have sensed the relationship was winding down, and couldn’t bear the thought of losing her.

He stared at her, a tight smile holding its place on his face while he waited for a response.

Both parts of Quinn’s heart wanted to say no. The part of her that had stayed with Eugene couldn’t commit to a life with him. The fun part of the banter and the lifestyle just wasn’t enough to offset the sacrifices she would have to make, tending to his endless needs for the rest of her life. And the part of her that had left him all those years ago had to get back ... and had to do it soon. The panic she had managed to suppress was now threatening to overwhelm her. How long had she been here? Was it just a few minutes or much longer? She couldn’t put her finger on it. Was Lewis back in the room yet? Was he panicking?

But what to do at this moment? Should she tell Eugene no? What good would that do? On the other hand, was it right to lie? Should she say yes for expediency?

“My knees are about to crap out,” he said.

“What?”

“I’m waiting for your answer, Quinn. But you’d better hurry, or I’m going to need an orthopedist before we leave this island.”

She took a deep breath and looked out the window, studying the expanse of ocean she would need to navigate. She closed her eyes for a moment and pictured Lewis reading her note. He would be looking at the clock, wondering when she would get back. Perhaps he was calling her cell phone right this minute.

“Is it the diamond?” Eugene said. “Is it too showy? I knew it. I was looking at a tasteful solitaire that was half the size, but Andrew talked me into this one. He said that after dragging my feet for ten years I needed to wow you. I can return it, you know. You can pick out any diamond you want. It doesn’t even have to be a diamond. There was another ring with a beautiful ruby surrounded by baguettes. Maybe you’d like that better.”

“No,” she said.

He went pale. “No?”

“I mean no, it’s not too showy. It’s beautiful.” She paused, took a deep breath. “And yes.”

“Yes?”

God help me, she thought. But there’s no faster way out of here. “Yes,” she said. “I’ll marry you.”

His face lit up. “You will?” He took the ring from the box and slipped it onto her finger. Then he stood and embraced her.

She hugged him back, trying to think of a way to extricate herself so that she could get out of the room and back into the ocean.

“Were you surprised?” he asked, without releasing her.

“Quite.”

“I hope you’re happy.”

“I am.”

“I was going to wait and see if I got offered the network job, but then I realized it didn’t even matter. And I wanted this to be a birthday you’d remember forever.”

“No question about that.”

He kissed her deeply. She went along, trying not to let herself get pulled into the fever of desire.

“We should celebrate,” he said. His voice was soft. Lascivious.

No, no, no, she thought. Please don’t let him be talking about sex.

“Let’s order champagne,” she said, hoping to divert him.

“I have a better idea.” He pulled her toward the bed.

“Maybe we should wait,” she said.

“For what?”

“For our wedding night.” She was desperate, grasping at straws.

He laughed.

“I’m serious,” she said. “I think it will be more special.”

“Quinn, we’ve been sleeping together for over ten years. It would be pretty silly at this point to pretend you’re a virgin on our wedding night. Besides, this is the most romantic place we’ve ever been.” He kissed her neck. “And I really, really want to fuck you right now.”

Still kissing, they fell onto the massive bed. Quinn considered her limited options. Could she feign illness? Tell him she had to go to the bathroom? And then what?

He pressed his pelvis against her and she felt his erection. Her hips automatically moved forward and her breath quickened. She wanted the chance to slow down and think without the interference of hot blood rushing to her private parts.

He grazed her nipple with his thumb and she cried out. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea. It was, after all, the quickest way to get out of there, wasn’t it? It could be over in minutes. Besides, she reasoned, since this was another life, it wasn’t really cheating . . . was it? It was more like adding another memory to her pre-Lewis past.

Eugene put his hand on her crotch and Quinn felt herself go wet. She was dangerously close to the point of no return.

He fumbled with the clasp on her bikini top, which didn’t hook like a bra and was giving him trouble.

“I’ll get it,” she said, and that was it. The decision was made. She would do it. She would have sex with Eugene. In fact, she would give it everything she had in order to get him to finish fast. Then he would fall asleep and she could dash out.

Quinn moaned and arched her back, playing up the ecstasy maybe just a bit more than she actually felt. Her excitement, she knew, would hurry him along.

“I love it when you’re hot,” he said, grabbing her breasts.

She scrambled out of her bottoms. “I want you!” she cried.

“If I had known a ring would make you this horny, I would have proposed years ago.”

“Let’s do this,” she whispered.

“I think I’ll make you beg for it.”

He was not going to make this easy. But if he wanted her to beg, she would beg.

“Oh, Eugene,” she said. “I need you. Please!”

“
Shh.
Wait.”

Wait? When did Eugene acquire patience? She did everything she could to rush things along, but he was intent on taking it slow. When at last they engaged, Quinn thought her problems were over and that it would just be a matter of minutes. But then she remembered that she had scored him a prescription for Viagra all those years ago and he was still taking it. The result was that he could last and last and last.

Finally, after it seemed as if the best years of her life had gone by, he finished and rolled off her, exhausted. Five minutes later he was softly snoring. Quinn ducked out from under his heavy arm, put her bathing suit back on, and slipped out the door.

 

 

“I’D LIKE TO RENT A ROWBOAT,” She said to the man who sat on a folding chair in front of the boat rental shack just a few yards from where she had docked earlier. He was older than the islander who drove her boat, with a gray beard and shaved head.

“I cannot rent you a boat,” he said.

“Why not?”

“You are alone, missus.”

“So?”

“Too dangerous. Bring the gentleman and you can take a boat.”

“Please,” she said. “I’ll bring it right back.”

“If you want to hire one of my men—”

“I want to go out by myself.”

“It is not possible,” he said, and pointed to a sign hanging on the shack behind him. It had a list of rules for boat rentals, including “All boats must be manned by two or more people.”

She glanced down the beach and saw a single rowboat resting on the sand about twenty yards away. By hook or by crook, she was going to find that portal.

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll come back later with my ... fiancé.”

She walked off toward the water, pretending to be interested in going for a swim. When the man went back to reading his book, Quinn headed straight to the unattended boat. She pushed it into the water, got inside, and rowed as hard as she could.

A voice called out from the shore. “Missus! Missus! Come back here!”

Quinn ignored him and kept rowing.

She looked left and right, trying to find the mental line she had drawn, but it was impossible for Quinn to tell where she needed to be. The best she could hope for was to try to get close enough to the spot to sense it. She rowed on.